Reservoir renovation affects supply

The New Indian Express, April 14, 2007

BHAWANIPATNA: With depleting water resources and their increasing demand for drinking, irrigation, industrial use and power generation, water has become an extremely precious and equally scarce resource.

In Bhawanipatna, all these factors are set to give a tough time to the people, it’s apprehended, this summer.

The situation has aggravated due to draining out of water from the Asha Sagar reservoir where renovation work is in progress. The renovation work has affected recharge of water in several areas besides leading to an alarming decline in the water table.

To tide over the crisis, the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED), Bhawanipatna sub-division, has sought at least 35 tube wells which would be sunk and made operational before the situation worsens.

Assistant Engineer, PHED, Bhawanipatna, Ashutosh Pattnaik said steps are also being taken to supply water through tankers and tractors if the situation demands.

The PHED here has four tankers and a tractor. On the other hand, the piped water supply to Bhawanipatna town which was completed in 1971, for 21,000 people, is in a poor state.

Now, the population has touched nearly a lakh and the demand for water has also increased. But, the pipeline of three-inch diameter, chocked at different places is unable to meet the rising demand.

Moreover, there’s no pipeline connection in 40 percent of the town. To add to it, many households use motors to pump out water illegally, further paralysing the system.

Piped-water is supplied to the town through 81 km distribution pipeline. The present source, river Sagada, from where water is pumped to the town, dries up completely during summer.

The supply is, however, managed with the use of six deep bore wells, but here also running the pumps becomes a hard job due to erratic power supply and low voltage.

To improve water supply to the town under RLTAP (KBK), a Rs 9.5-crore project is under execution.

It would pump water from river Hati and supply it to the town residents through a pipeline to Bhawanipatna town.

The pipeline is targeted to be completed by 2008. After its execution, nine MLD (million litre per day) of water will be provided to the town from the current supply of 2 to 2.5 MLD.

However, people apprehend that even if the scheme is completed in time the problem will persist as there is no scope for laying a distribution system for the town.

For improvement of the distribution system Rs 5 crore would be required, PHED sources said.